Women dressed as men: powerful officials

Chapter 169 What's There to Be Angry About?

"Of course I'm not." Wu Shiming looked at Xu Yuan and said, "I'm just like you, I just want someone to take care of me, that's all. But what you ask for is a little different, because you saved me. When everyone was laughing at me, you helped me. In other words, I'm probably repaying a favor."

Even though Wu Shiming didn't need the money to bury his grandfather.

He was also moved by the friendship of Xu Yuan.

There is no one else who treats him so well.

Xuyuan didn't say anything else, she got up and went to the kitchen.

Chen Shan has been here all the time, so I guess the medicine should still be simmering on the stove.

She has always been in poor health, so she dared not be careless when making a wish.

Seeing Xu Yuan standing up, Wu Shiming immediately asked, "Where are you going?"

"Look for medicine."

"Take a rest. I'll take care of you for the next two days. Don't be stubborn. Just focus on healing your wounds."

After Wu Shiming finished speaking, he hurried to the kitchen.

In the afternoon, when Xuyuan was about to go to bed, there was knock on the door again.

Wu Shiming went to open the door and saw a handsome gentleman standing outside. He didn't know him, but from his temperament, he didn't look like an ordinary person.

Qi Shengxin was not angry when Wu Shiming looked him up and down. He said in a gentle tone, "I'm looking for Xu Yuan. Is he here?"

"Yes, but I have to go to bed. If it's not a big deal, come back another day."

After Wu Shiming finished speaking, he was about to close the door.

The servant beside Qi Shengxin said, "Who are you to be Mr. Xu's master? Just go and tell Mr. Xu that my young master is here, and he will definitely meet him."

Seeing the aggressive look of the servant opposite him, Wu Shiming wanted to fight back, but he remembered his wish and held back, and only said, "Wait a moment, the two of you. I'll go in and ask."

Xu Yuan was not asleep yet. When she heard Wu Shiming asking her, she hesitated for a moment, then got up and went out.

It rained for several days and the weather turned cold.

When he made a wish and went out, he added another cloak.

When Qi Shengxin saw Xu Yuan, he was stunned and asked, "Are you sick?"

"It rained."

After making her wish, she saw that Qi Shengxin did not mention what happened yesterday, so she said, "Mr. Qi, did anything happen yesterday? I was waiting for you at the palace gate for a long time."

"My eldest sister had something to do yesterday, so she went to the East Palace."

After Qi Shengxin finished speaking, he bowed and said, "I'm sorry, I should have informed you in advance. You don't have to wait for me in front of the palace gate for so long."

"It's okay, someone will pick me up."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, his words showing no concern, "I did not pass the assessment yesterday, but I am sorry to trouble the Qi family once. If Master Qi needs my help in the future, I will definitely not refuse."

"I will have someone investigate the matter of Wenhua Palace, and I will not let the students of the Prime Minister's Mansion be bullied by others."

Xu Yuan paused as he took the teacup, raised his eyes and asked, "Master Qi, what is this? Is this hindsight?"

"Are you angry? Angry that I didn't stand up for you yesterday?" Qi Shengxin frowned slightly.

Hearing what the two said, Qi Shengxin, the servant, immediately retreated, dragging away Wu Shiming, who was still preparing to listen to some gossip, and said earnestly, "You, the servant, are too ignorant of the expression of others."

Wu Shiming smiled and said nothing.

"What's there to be angry about?"

Xu Yuan fetched tea and boiled water while saying, "Someone is targeting me, which only means that I caught their eyes and frightened them, so they wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible. They wanted to plot against me yesterday, whether you were here or Prime Minister Qi was here, the result would be the same."

"then you……"

Seeing Xu Yuan's nonchalant look, Qi Shengxin became more and more confused about what Xu Yuan was thinking.

"The person I hate is myself." Xu Yuan thought of Bei Yao for no reason.

Xu Yuan paused and said, "I know someone who told me that it is good for young people to be aggressive, but they should always recognize their own status and situation. Indeed, since entering the capital, everything I have done has been smooth, which has made me proud, complacent, and even conceited. I don't feel wronged by what happened yesterday. I only know that if I hadn't made a mistake yesterday, I would have made a bigger mistake in the future."

"You..." Qi Shengxin was speechless. After a while, seeing Xu Yuan still brewing tea with an indifferent expression, he asked, "How old are you this year?"

Xuyuan didn't understand why, but still answered, "Fifteen."

"At the age of fifteen, you can walk from Sishui County to the capital, win the first prize in the poetry pavilion, and even kill the Taiwei Mansion with a sword and escape unscathed. Make a wish, you have the ability to be conceited."

Qi Shengxin looked at Xu Yuan with a little more sincerity in his eyes.

"In the capital, most people are children of nobles, but you are different. You are more tenacious than them. I believe that in time, you will be successful, and the Qi family and I are willing to help you with all our strength."

Xuyuan was stunned, "Why?"

"Not everything in this world can be explained." Qi Shengxin smiled, "I came here today to ask you something. Is your purpose Wenhua Palace or the national examination?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course there are. Entering Wenhua Palace is like having one foot in the officialdom. This is a path paved for the prince's companions and high-ranking officials. Most of the students who graduate from Wenhua Palace enter the Hanlin Academy. It is only a matter of time before they are given important positions. But if you want to take the national exam, you need to compete for the first place to have a chance to enter the officialdom."

Tianqi's system of selecting officials was different from that of all previous dynasties.

There are only two types of people who can become officials.

The first is to take the national exam.

The second is to enter the Wenhua Palace.

Its flexibility lies in the fact that it separates the paths for the descendants of high-ranking officials and students from poor families.

In the capital, all legitimate sons of ministers of the second rank and above must study in the Wenhua Palace for three years. After completing their studies, they can directly enter the Hanlin Academy.

If you have real talent and are discovered by the emperor, he will give you a suitable official position and directly confer an official title, just like Tang Yi, who was sent to Wenhua Palace to be a teacher.

The benefit of this is that it can prevent high-ranking officials and nobles from buying and selling official positions and titles in the future, and it can also prevent some children of aristocratic families from doing nothing all day and bullying men and women. It can also appease those high-ranking officials and nobles. Anyway, they have already entered the Hanlin Academy, and it is only a matter of time before they are reused.

Moreover, even if you enter the Wenhua Palace, you can still take the national examination.

If you have talent, then take the national exam and get a job directly.

If not, you can just eat and wait for death in there. Once you enter the Hanlin Academy, there is a possibility of being promoted.

Therefore, the students of Wenhua Palace generally fall into three categories.

One is to be a companion to the prince, which is to train a close minister for the prince, or for the emperor, from an early age.

The second is the descendant of a high-ranking official or the legitimate son of an important minister.

The third group is recommended by ministers of the first rank or above. However, this type of students still needs to take part in the assessment of Wenhua Palace and can only enter Wenhua Palace after passing it.

Unlike Wenhua Palace, the national examination is open to scholars from all over the world. As long as you study hard and have real talents and knowledge, as long as you get a good ranking, you can basically be appointed as an official.

Moreover, more importantly, those who take the national examination basically have similar family backgrounds, and there are few great writers, which reduces some unfair competition.

However, this is not absolute.

But everything has its pros and cons. Such a system is the greatest fairness to students from poor families.